


Bending the Rules

by apollosukulele



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, F/F, F/M, Fire ferrets, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Series, Pro-Bending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-02 15:18:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8672440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apollosukulele/pseuds/apollosukulele
Summary: Bolin realises there's something missing from the pro-bending world and sets out to put it right. The Fire Ferrets fight head to head against a mystery team in the first match of it's kind, making pro-bending history.Set after season 4





	1. A New Beginning

“You know, Bolin, this actually a pretty good idea.”

“I know! I have these moments sometimes and I’m like, ‘Hey, Bolin, nice job you did there! ‘Why thank you, Bolin, I’m really pleased with myself even if the thought process did wear me out.’ Even Pabu seems to be proud to be part of this grand idea!” The fire ferret squeaked enthusiastically on Bolin’s shoulder. “I think he’s just pleased to be back in his role of Team Mascot. I mean, this whole thing isn’t exactly KAPOW!! Spirit-Portal!! level of awesome but I like to think I’ve done my bit for society.”

“I really do think it’s great.” Korra grinned. “I feel kinda bad that I hadn’t spotted this imbalance before, but I’m so glad that you did because now we’re one step further to creating a world with more opportunities for future generations. Also, it’s good to have the old Fire Ferret’s back together again!”

“I know, it’s been too long! I’m so glad you guys were still up for it though. It wouldn’t be the same without you both on the team.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to stand back and let you play alongside those other benders you hired that one time.”

“Hey; they were the best I could find!” protested Bolin. “Though I do admit it didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped...”

They were interrupted by the sound of the door crashing down, accompanied by a very loud ‘Wa-hooooo!’

“Sorry I’m late!” The three of them turned round to see a rather energetic looking Bumi beaming excitedly at them like a small child, proudly wearing his newly made Fire Ferrets’ glider suit.

“You made it!” Korra greeted him.

“Of course I made it! I wasn’t going to miss this important moment in airbender history, was I? Especially when I’m the one  _ making _ the history!”

“Did you manage to get any clues as to who this mystery team might be? None of us have got so much as a hint. Not even  _ Beifong  _ seems to know anything. Not that she really cares about pro-bending but that’s not the point.”

“I’m afraid I’ve had no luck either. You would have thought we'd at least have caught them training or  _ something _ . During my time in the United Forces we had various ways of getting information out of people, but the ones I deemed appropriate to use on on my fellow citizens have led to nothing. Maybe I  _ should  _ have blackmailed Tenzin after all.” 

“It seems airbenders are evasive in all areas of life.” Mako mused.

“That’s for certain. I feel there’s been a rift of separation growing between Opal and myself of late. It all began when I asked her to be the airbender for our team and she declined, saying she refused to go against her oath of non-violence even though the whole concept had been approved by Tenzin and classified under ‘training’. And now with us practicing all the time and her needing to take time off to visit her family in Zaofu we’ve barely seen each other at all. How I wish love would not keep us apart! The only hope that has kept me going through this dark time is her promise to be here tonight - I imagine she’s up there now, sitting in the audience, full of anticipation and eagerness for the great game that is to begin...” Bolin clutched his chest in a love-stricken fashion, as if his heart had not yet finished sharing it’s broken love story with the world. Mako looked impatient. 

“Well, we know at least one of the other team members even if we don’t know exactly who just yet,” explained Korra. “As for the non-airbenders, we’ll just have to wait and see. It could be anyone. All we know is that it’s not going to be anyone we’ve fought in this ring before, so we have to be prepared for anything.” 

“And now...” Shiro Shinobi’s voice boomed across the arena.

“Are you ready, Fire Ferrets?!!” Mako encouraged. 

“I sure am!” Agreed Bumi. 

“Count me in!”

“Me too!” 

“...for their first match of the season and new era of Pro-Bending…”

“We can do this.” Korra pushed her first into her palm in determination. 

“It’s the nation’s favourite, Future Industry’s Fire Ferrets!”

The team walked into the arena, smiling and waving to their audience. 

“First up we have none other than Avatar Korra herself, the team’s waterbender!” Korra waved enthusiastically. “I hear that she’s recently returned from the spirit world, having formed a beautiful romance with the one and only Asami Sato, owner of Future Industries and sponsor of the Fire Ferret’s themselves!” The audience gasped and ahh-ed; Korra looked sheepish but delighted, nonetheless. 

“Now it’s time to welcome our firebender and team captain, Mako.” He raised his hand in acknowledgement. “I hear he’s got an extra special guest in the audience tonight… Yes, that’s right! It’s the guy who abdicated the throne and turned the Earth kingdom into separate states…… give it a hand for Wu!” Wu stood up from his box - also containing Mako and Bolin’s family - and bowed. Korra looked over at Mako who looked severely irritated, but was that-- was he blushing?! Shinobi had already moved on, however.

“It’s the mover star, the earth bender, and the hero who came up with the idea to change pro-bending history FOREVER: It’s Bolin!” He flexed his muscles as he got a huge round of applause and looked around pleasing the people, trying to spot Opal in the audience at the same time. Instead, he ended up making awkward eye contact with Eska. Raava only knows what she was doing watching the match, but it sent a cold shiver down his spine.

“And last but certainly not least, we have our first ever pro-bending airbender; it's the son of Avatar Aang himself and retired General of the United Forces… Bumi!” The crowd burst into rapturous applause and Bumi did his ‘Wahoo!’ dance and performed what looked like some kind of kangaroo-zebra mating dance. Everyone seemed to love it.

“But now is the moment we've all been waiting for: as soon as this concept was put forward to me by Bolin, I was approached by a secret, elite new team of pro-benders wishing to take on the Fire Ferrets in this iconic game. Up until now their identity has remained hidden but I can now reveal that they are……………”


	2. An Air of Familiarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fire Ferrets find out the identity of their mystery rivals, and they have some serious competition.

_“But now is the moment we've all been waiting for: as soon as this concept was put forward to me by Bolin, I was approached by a secret, elite new team of pro-benders wishing to take on the Fire Ferrets in this iconic game. Up until now their identity has remained hidden but I can now reveal that they are……………”_

“......Zaofu’s very own Beifong Bison!”

The Fire Ferrets were collectively in shock as they saw the identity of their opponents for the first time. Mako was the least personally targeted out of the four of them, but he knew the firebender he was up against; although they had only met a couple of times in person, he realised he was going to have to up his game if they were to stand a chance of winning. Korra looked determined. She knew all four of her opponents well, at least in terms of their bending styles. She had fought alongside three of them and trained against the fourth and well… they were, at a glance, an eclectic mix of people but together they formed a formidable and aggressive team.

Bumi was not expecting to see one of the people there, but when he thought about it he wasn’t surprised at all. It wasn’t the other airbender he was so worried about - she was good, but they were more of a fair match. Slightly.  No, it was another member of the team who he knew would find it much more enjoyable to target him than anyone else, and if he was honest with himself he was a little put out by that. He didn’t seem to get one moment of glory without it being stolen by another, better version of him. Well, maybe today would be the day he would finally fight back.

And then there was Bolin. He had turned into a shuddering mess. Mako glanced in his direction, and could see sweat forming on his brow and his legs were shaking slightly; not enough to be seen from the audience but enough for both teams to notice. Mako couldn’t decide whether to feel sorry for Bolin or to be angry that he’d been so stupid. Not that that was a new dilemma to be faced with. He was snapped out of having to choose by Shiro Shinobi’s voice echoing throughout the arena once more.

“To begin with we have our first Beifong of the team; it’s Wei on earthbending! That’s right, he’s the grandson of Toph Beifong, the original metalbender, but unfortunately you won’t be seeing any metalbending tonight - at least, not until someone else comes and changes the rules again!” That got a laugh from the audience.

“So it turns out we don’t just have the one prince in the building tonight; no, we’ve got two! And Prince isn’t his only title, either. Let’s give a warm welcome to General Iroh of the United Forces and heir to the Fire Nation!” The crowd cheered. “I wonder how the dynamics will play out between the two generals, Iroh and Bumi? Will they be able to successfully fight against each other having worked closely as friends and colleagues in the past?”

“Now, also playing for the Beifong Bison we have another interesting person to add to the mix. She’s one of the best waterbenders around, so Korra had better watch her step! It’s the daughter of Avatar Aang and Master Katara, Kya!” More cheering. “So not only will Bumi be facing his ex work colleague but we might end up seeing a bit of sibling rivalry between him and his sister, too!” Kya smirked and stretched her palms out, fingers interlocking. Korra cracked her knuckles.

“And finally we come to the second ever airbender to walk into the pro-bending arena - well, not including Korra. It’s the captain of the Bison herself, and we’ve got another Beifong on the team. Yes, you guessed it, it’s none other than Opal!” She spun around in the air in a way that showed she meant business. “Not only is she a powerful bender herself, but I hear she’s also dating Bolin of the Fire Ferrets! Will Bolin be able to manage fighting both his girlfriend and her brother?

“Well, let’s not waste any time and find out for ourselves. Now that we’ve introduced both teams, we’ve got some serious pro-bending to look forward to in the first game involving all four elements in pro-bending history!”


End file.
